Helen Mirren is my role model - but not because of her acting: Kelly Brook on why she admires the Oscar-winning Dame in a bikini

Kelly Brook in exclusive interview with Mail On Sunday's YOU magazine

PUBLISHED: 00:38, 31 March 2013 | UPDATED: 00:38, 31 March 2013

She is, indeed, a role model: a Shakespearean-trained actress who has won an Oscar for playing the Queen and made a dame for her services to the performing arts.

But when model Kelly Brook cited Dame Helen Mirren as an inspiration, she had different quality in mind: the fact she looks great in a bikini.

The 33-year-old – who’s made her own name by posing in her smalls – said the esteemed actress made her look at aging in a new way.

Sultry siren: Kelly Brook says the pictures of actress Helen Mirren in a bikini has given her confidence about aging

Miss Brook told The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine: ‘I do sometimes worry about getting older and the fact that I am not going to be a model for ever.

'But the fact that Helen Mirren can look so good in swimwear is an amazing boost for all women. When I think about [women like her] I instantly stop worrying.’

Ms Mirren, now 67, was photographed wearing a red two-piece in Italy in 2008, but later said the pictures were unrealistic and will ‘haunt me for ever’.

Few people linger as long as Kelly Brook when emerging from a swimming pool, but then even
fewer look as damn great in a bikini.

Which is why Ms Brook’s swimwear range for New Look, which YOU shot exclusively in Miami, is now in its seventh season, and why the paparazzi follow her every linger.

Inspiration: Dame Helen Mirren (sans bikini)

At 33, Kelly still sells and – as she told us poolside at the trendy Delano Hotel – she is embracing both getting older and her covetable curves.

Bikini shoot or not, Kelly is a girl on a mission to have fun, drinking rosé with lunch, ordering burger and fries for dinner and flirting with a certain Leonardo DiCaprio who just happens to be hanging at the same pool.

Kelly spends a lot of time on the YOU photo shoot extolling the virtues of her single life, though her Instagram feed tells a different story, suggesting that she is currently rekindling her relationship with rugby player Danny Cipriani.

Her publicist refused to confirm her current relationship status but, whatever the real story, Kelly Brook is a woman in control…

'Over the past few years I have been very focused on my relationships and being homely, but now I am ready to get out there again. I want to be more selfish. I think I just got a little bit stagnant and now I feel as though I need to go to that next level and grow a bit more in all areas of my life.

'I feel more confident in my 30s than I ever have before. These years right now are special, and I must be careful how I utilise this time in my life.

'From now on I’ll no longer be held back in any way and I feel the most complete I’ve ever felt. And I’m single! Not having to jump into anything or hang out with anyone feels great. I don’t need to be around people – I’m very happy to be on my own.

'At times I might be followed by up to 20 paparazzi who will take photos that will tell a story that isn’t true. I just find the whole thing weird. Here in Miami I was on my own for a day last week, and I know the paps were thinking, "Is she OK? Is she all right?"

'They had headlines in their eyes. And I was thinking, "I am all right – are you all right?"

Bikini top, £16.99, and bottoms, £10.99, Kelly Brook for New Look. EARRINGS, £4.99, New Look

'People think there must be something wrong if I’m on my own. It’s either that or, when I am with someone, they assume we’re dating – I can’t win. There is nothing sad and alone about me. I am having a great time.

'I do sometimes worry about getting older and the fact that I am not going to be a model for ever, but then I look at amazing women like Lauren Hutton and Yasmin Le Bon.

'Monica Bellucci is also a big inspiration, she is so curvaceous and fabulous, and she models, she acts – she does it all! When I think about those women I instantly stop worrying. And, anyway, hopefully by the time I get to that point I will be married with children and I’ll be happy and I won’t care any more.

KELLY'S CHOICE

Coffee vs Green Tea
Coffee

Sauvignon Blanc vs Dirty Martini
Dirty martini

Louboutin vs Converse
Louboutin

Staying out and lying in vs early to bed and up at dawn
Late night and lie in.

Maida Vale vs Miami
Maida Vale

Harry Styles vs Prince Harry
Prince Harry all day long

High Street vs High Fashion
High fashion

Skinny vs boyfriend vs bootcut
Skinny

Cinema vs theatre vs DVD
DVD

'The fact that Helen Mirren can look so great in swimwear is an amazing boost for all women.

'Most women can carry off a bikini; the problem is they don’t think that they can and don’t have the confidence to try. As long as you’re in good shape, who can say you’re too old to wear anything?

'It’s bound to be more difficult after you have children, or if you’ve not been to the gym for a while, or even if you’ve just eaten a lot because you’re on holiday…I mean, we’ve all been there!

'But that’s when the one-piece comes into its own. If you’re in a one-piece no one is going to look at you and think, "God, she’s put on weight" –instead they will just think how chic you look in that very fashionable swimsuit.

'Bikini confidence is a state of mind. Firstly, you have to accept who you are – if you’re larger on the bust then get some support rather than going for a stringy bikini top. And look after yourself – exfoliate your skin, get a spray tan, treat yourself to a pedicure – it will help to make you feel
more beach confident.

'As a teenager I could never find any swimwear that fitted me. That’s why I came up with the concept for the New Look collection.

'Every season we stay with the 1950s theme because that’s very much me – I’m never likely to have a drastic change in style because I wear what suits me and I stick to it.

'I’ve never had one of those amazing yoga bodies. My body is what it is. I am sure if I went on a crash diet, lost two stone and toned up I could make loads of money by making fitness videos and selling my story to the tabloids.

'But I don’t want to encourage women to be anything other than what they are. That’s very important to me.

Bikini top, £16.99, and bottoms, £10.99, Kelly Brook for New Look. EARRINGS, £4.99, New Look

'Fad diets just aren’t on my radar — I’ve only just heard about this fasting trend. I mean, here we are sitting by the pool at an amazing hotel, we’re in Miami, we’re going to have a couple of cocktails and a burger – and why not?

KELLY'S HEROES

TOP TV SHOW I should say Homeland, but I’ve never seen it.

FAVE FILM At the moment, Argo. Of all time, Cinema Paradiso.

FAVE HANGOUT Little House, a members’ club in Mayfair.

BAND OF THE MOMENT Grimes — lots of photographers play them on shoots, so they must be trendy.

GADGET My iPad mini.

WEBSITE/APP I love CN Traveller — I use that a lot.

'That’s my way of thinking – the sun is shining, life is good. But when I am back in London I’ll be more careful, I’ll have nice teas and cook for myself and be by myself. For me, the easiest way to keep healthy is cooking for myself.

'I’m very much, "When in Rome…have tiramisu." I love a cheeseburger when I am in the US, I love a gin and tonic at night, I love a glass of wine with my lunch.

'I’m very much wanting to enjoy the moment and when I travel that means trying great food.

'The gym is not for me. I think as soon as you have to force yourself to go to a gym and it’s like, "I’ve got to go and work off that bleedin’ Mars bar" then you’re not in a good headspace.

'Instead I do pilates, I go for nice long walks and I swim. I also love to dance in my house – I will put on MTV and prance about.

'I truly believe that beauty comes from within. If you’re happy then not only will you look better, you’ll be a good partner and a good friend, too. I’m careful with the message I give out. I am natural – I don’t have hair extensions or anything like that.

Confident: Kelly says she will no longer be held back and that she feels 'the most complete I've ever felt'

Rumours: Throughout the interview Kelly maintains she is still single, despite several public appearances on the arm of ex-boyfriend Danny Cipriani

'I’m not the person who says, "I’ve had 20 boob jobs," or "I have Botox every two months and look at me, aren’t I great?" I think those girls are actually really sad and are not very happy in themselves.

'I know I’ll take a lot of abuse from Keith Lemon in my new role on Celebrity Juice [she’s doing maternity cover on the ITV2 panel show for regular team leader Fearne Cotton].

'Keith and I are friends, but I was once a guest on Celebrity Juice and he was very mean to me – I’m an easy target! He’ll probably bring up all these photos of me posing in a bikini. But you know what, this is an opportunity to have a bit of a go back, and have a laugh with it.

'To me, life should be a mixture of experiences. I wouldn’t be happy if I was travelling all the time, but neither would I be happy to always be at home.

'I love getting to know different cultures and having new experiences – hanging alongside Leonardo DiCaprio at the Delano Hotel!

'But then I do love getting home and running around in my tracksuit bottoms and watching trashy TV and eating beans on toast. I enjoy working hard but I also like to party – I think the best life is a mixture of both.

High hopes: Kelly wants her bikini line for New Look to inspire confidence in your women and make them proud of their bodies

'I’m really close to my mum and brother. As much as we bicker, when it comes down to it, we’re all there for each other. They are my support network, but I don’t tend to bother them with work problems – in their world, it doesn’t matter if I’m in a room not a suite in Miami!

'My ex-boyfriend [Danny Cipriani] and I have joint custody of our dog Rocky. Dogs are like babies in that way. I don’t get to see Rocky all the time, but walking him while staying at my cottage – my sanctuary – in Kent is my ultimate way to relax. I’ll get the fire on and roast going and invite my family round – perfect.

'It’s awful to admit it but the one thing I couldn’t live without is my phone. I am on it all the time, constantly sending picture messages. I do Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, too. I sometimes interact with fans but I don’t really go on to chat to people – if I do then it’s to set the record straight. Luckily, I have nice fans. No trolls!

The latest Kelly Brook for New Look swimwear collection is available in sizes 34B-36G and 6-16, and is in stores nationwide and at newlook.com now

KATCHING MY I

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Saturday, 30 March 2013

Bikini'd Kelly Brook in exclusive interview with Mail On Sunday's YOU magazine

Helen Mirren is my role model - but not because of her acting: Kelly Brook on why she admires the Oscar-winning Dame in a bikini

KELLY'S CHOICE

KELLY'S HEROES